"So you mean, Carter is someone like a prince here?" Airi looked at Maria with a look that one has while seeing the world's strangest animal in the zoo, whereas Maria was surely acting like one.
"Of course he is. Otherwise, why do you think those girls are pining you with stares?"
"Fine, he is a bit on the good-looking side, I admit. But just now you said he doesn't even bother to breathe if not needed. So it is safe to assume that he doesn't talk to people, like at all?"
Maria nodded her head up and down vigorously to affirm Airi's calculation.
"So, if that is the case, then what makes him the prince of school now?"
"Oh, god! Is it too hard to get it? The way he always stays nonchalant… not giving any distractions a chance, makes him unapproachable. And that's what makes him a prince."
"So, he is not someone one can get, and so girls drool over him? Is that it?" Airi got again the aggressive nod in reply.
"Sigh! This is weird now!" Airi pressed her temples while thinking that. By now, her brainwaves have stopped working entirely. "Why that would be weird? Don't you crave the most for the things you can't get?" Maria asked her back.
"And this is what I am saying weird. Why cry over or seek over something you can't get at all? That's futile."
"Okay, fine, drop those things. The main thing is, the Carter who doesn't waste any words, came all the way here to talk to you? What that could mean?"
"That means nothing. Lloyd should be the one apologizing, but instead, he did. End of the conversation. Now go to your own seat, you are hurting my eyes enough already." Airi pushed away Maria, and sat on her seat, clutching her head.
"Crushing hard on both guys like Lloyd, and Carter. This is not school anymore, simply a mental asylum." Airi muttered to herself.
------
In the next hour, Clara called everyone to be present at the field. After a short while, everyone arrived at the field, except Maria. Clara got furious a lot seeing the irresponsibility in her, and she asked the class representative Airi to call her down.
Airi went up to the classroom, only to find Maria talking with a guy. But the way they were sitting too close to each other, was a bit weird. Yet, Airi chose to ignore it, as she doesn't know if they might be dating or not. "Maria, it's P.E. now, you didn't go down? Miss Celestine is searching for you."
Maria looked towards Airi with an irritated look, which seemed like she got interrupted in something. "I am not going, so go tell her that." With that saying, she turned back her attention towards the boy. Come to think of it, the guy didn't seem like someone from their class. Maybe he was from another class. Or maybe another year, who knows.
But being a class representative, she couldn't go back without doing her work. So Airi chose to insist her once again. "Girl, you do know that she is going to mark us on that, right? Do you have a desire to fail or what?"
Maria stood up abruptly, startling the boy beside her. "You can go back to your class now, I'll meet you later," she told the guy to leave and walked up to Airi. "And who do you think you are to tell me what I am going to do or not, huh?"
"No one, and trust me, I don't even care an ounce. It's just that I thought I should give you a heads up." Airi didn't flinch a bit, even though Maria sounded quite annoyed. "And who do you think, raising voice against me? You should know who is being the underling here. Or should I remind you why you are tagging along with me?"
Maria chuckled loudly at Airi's words. "Just because I turned in to you, did you think you can act all haughty, threatening me for anything?"
"And do you think you got the upper hand on this entire thing? Really? What do you think will happen if I actually act haughty and just make you recollect everything between us, in front of your sister? How are you going to get out of it, ever thought about that?"
Airi didn't want to sound that much threatening, but that did work in a way. Maria couldn't voice out any words in fear of provoking Airi. Any slip-up, and Rena would tear her into pieces. So she had to be really careful if she was going to stab in her back. So, not having anything to talk back to, she just gave a chilly stare to Airi and walked away. "Whatever, I am not going down. Tell her that."
"She is sure going to get red marks on her report this semester, " Airi wondered to herself while she watched Maria slowly go away, turning to the corner at the end of the hallway. "Well, none of my business. As long as she is actually of any use of mine, I am going to keep her. If not, who cares about the weirdo. She is going to be tossed out."
------
All those commotions with Maria took quite a while for Airi to come back. But seeing Airi returning alone, Clara got a bit frustrated. "She refused to come, right?"
Airi replied to her with a guilty and defeated look on her face. "Yes, Miss Celestine, I am sorry, but I…"
"I know that, Airi. I know you tried. It's okay. She has always been like that. And somehow, it's our fault for being too lenient, and not holding the reins tightly when it was the right time, " Clara sighed loudly and patted Airi's back. "But better late than never, right? Let's go." Airi nodded back dejectedly.
"Everyone, gather up. I want all of you to do a lap around the field. I will be timing you and record that on your card. So take this seriously and whenever I call up your name, start running." Clara started to call the students one by one, and they started running.
------
After returning home, Airi melted against the sofa as tiredness wrapped her entire body. Max noticed his tired child, slumped against the sofa, and hurriedly brought a glass of cold water. "Airi, drink this up." Airi took the glass and gulped down the entire content in it all at once.
"Want some snacks?" Max took the empty glass from her hands and put that on the table beside him. "Yeah, I would like that, " getting Airi's reply, Sara brought two plates full of fruits and cookies and put those on the tea-table in front of her. "School was tiring today?" she asked her daughter, judging the tired look on her face.
"Hectic." Airi replied single-wordedly. She had neither the physical nor the mental strength to talk at all. So she kept the responses as short as she could. "School schedule and on top of it, promotions for election… lot of work to do…"
"Surely, since you were selected as a candidate, you start tired most of the time of a day." Max recalled how dispirited her cheerful daughter has become since that day.
"Yeah, she has to stay up late everyday, just to prepare for both her lessons and those promotions. Sara agreed to Max, adding more to his words.
"Dear, if that's tiring you more than you can handle, then why do it? You can just back off, right?" Airi snapped off her tiredness and shot open her closed eyes, hearing her father's words. "School is all about enjoying life to its fullest, while studying. If you get wrapped up in all of these and forget to be happy and to enjoy, then when will you be able to truly gather up memories of it?"
Her mother seemed to agree with her father. "Yes, just back off from this, and spend your life at ease. Not everyone becomes a student council president, or student council body, and not everyone needs to be one." Sara stretched her hands to give a reassuring pat to Airi's shoulder.
"And you think I had any choices to begin with?" Airi's cold voice reverberated through the entire room, causing Sara's hands to stop midway.
Airi looked at her parents, and the look she had on her face made both of them scared. Airi had an intense coldness and anger in her eyes, which was so different than her usual cheerful appearance. Airi had always been a bit short-tempered, but it was the first time they had seen her this furious.
"Has anyone ever given me an option to choose if I do want to do it or not? Has anyone asked me, ever?"
Max tried to calm her down, because the way she was right now, nothing could be possibly reasoned with. "Look, Airi, this is normal. Your homeroom teacher thought you to be a suitable choice for class representative, and also she considered you as a deserving candidate for the president. So it was just a way of her thinking for your good, after all, student council presidents do get some privileges…"
"Then now I just turn my face away from those privileges? Is that what are you trying to say?"